The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is pleased to announce the appointment of Peggy Hardek as the chairperson of its board of directors.

Hardek is a partner in PwC’s Cyber, Risk & Regulatory practice and a licensed CPA in Illinois. She graduated with high honors from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Accountancy and is a member of the AICPA and the Institute of Internal Auditors. After joining the Red Cross board of directors in 2016, she has served on various committees and capacities, including co-chairing the 2019 Heroes Breakfast Leadership Committee.

“Peggy has been an influential force for good as a board member the past six years and we are honored to have her now lead our board of directors,” said Celena Roldán, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Illinois. “Her commitment to the Red Cross’ lifesaving mission and service to the organization is unwavering.”

Hardek continues to bring her vision and mission of the Red Cross “to the next generation” and says that she values the Red Cross for the “breadth and scope of their mission and what they represent.” Her connections to the Red Cross also run a little deeper for her family. After sorting through some of her mother’s belongings following her passing, she found out that her mom was a part of the Junior Red Cross. She now carries that knowledge in her heart, and it motivates her to use her service to the organization as a way to honor her mother who always was a beacon of compassion and care for others.

“Having seen the mission carried out consistently and continuously, I am honored to further my work with the Red Cross in this elevated position. I will continue to support and contribute to the compassionate and meaningful work of the Red Cross to enable our volunteer workforce to assist the public in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters of all sizes,” Hardek said. 

With more than 30 years of experience with PwC, Hardek has served companies in a range of industries providing internal audit, external audit and risk management advisory services. Over the last 20 years, her experience ranges from delivering large-scale, global internal audit outsourcing programs for complex multinationals to providing smaller, flexible co-sourcing arrangements for others. She has led enterprise-wide risk management assessments, numerous pre-IPO SOX 404 readiness and SOX redesign and optimization projects, pre- and post-implementation reviews of major IT system implementations, and a variety of highly specialized functional and IT audits. She also advises her clients on how to transform their compliance and audit functions to be more strategically aligned with the business and other risk prevention and mitigation activities within their organizations including their ERM and ESG programs.

Hardek will step into the role previously filled by James H. Wildman of William Blair who led the board for the last two years.

The volunteer board includes more than 30 civic and corporate leaders from a range of professional backgrounds for the region that serves 7.7 million people in 5 counties in northern Illinois. A full list of members is located at redcross.org/local/illinois/about-us/leadership.

About the American Red Cross of Illinois

The American Red Cross of Illinois serves 12.4 million people in 88 counties in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri including Adams, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cook, Coles, Christian, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, De Witt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jasper, Jefferson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermillion, Warren, Washington, Whiteside, Will, Williamson Winnebago, Woodford. Iowa: Lee, Muscatine, Scott and Van Buren. Missouri: Clark, Lewis, Marion and Ralls. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit us at Redcross.org/Illinois or visit us on Twitter @RedCrossIL.           

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